Another benefit of this website is telling the seasons... it must be summer as traffic drops off and the interaction give way to a quiet time on the forum.

Don't get me wrong, I think its great that we're out enjoying natural light and a healthy brew, instead of punching at a keyboard... I for one, been so busy this past month, and now on my way back to Montreal, for a month of uncertain work - should be interesting.

Well I spent the past month installing a new gas tank into my little 18' Donzi. Bigger job than I had originally thought, but thankfully everything worked out great. Weather here is still crap, looks like it is changing to the better beginning July, of course, thats when I go to work, DUH!

So you're getting on Brad, I was just thinking about you, since Matthias is prodding me to get going on it... What do you think - is it relevant or worth it? What is your investment in time and money by now in your efforts to reach the 1st class if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks for the well wishes,
General is a monster. Why do I really need to spend a day learning about the calorific values of coal? as a fuel. Time to update the question bank.
Doing the general exam has freed me of the hair I once enjoyed on my head, and left the remainders a nicer shade of white. But in the scheme of things it's just an exam, write it a second or third time if needed. Motor and Orals seem like a dream.
Martin I definitely think it is worth it. I wish I started the process a few years ago, knocking out the part A exams. I've been fortunate with the company footing the bill, but I think working on a subject on time off or if you can focus on it while at sea even better. Slowly work away at it.

Re the calorific value of coal.
Always remember that the dastardly Doctor Diesel originally built his engine to run on coal dust with air blast injection.
I remember in the fuel crisis way back about the 1980's ( when my hair was dark too), several test bed engines were modified to run on a slurry of coal dust in Heavy Fuel Oil. The engines ran OK but the coal dust was so abrasive that it destroyed the fuel injection pumps and injection valves in a couple of days running, so it was not considered commercially viable.
Maybe with modern technology and you ground the coal finer???
Seriously, I think it is more likey that the Bio Engineers will find/ develop a Bacteria that we can pump into a coal seam and will break down the solid coal into oil and gas which can be pumped out without anyone ever having to go underground.
BP

It is always better to ask a stupid question than to do a stupid thing.

Brad, the only advice I can give is to not write in Victoria, examiner here is a bit of a prick, in my humble opinion. Nanaimo would be much better. The company I worked for had only 2 vessels where you needed a 1st, all others only needed a 2nd. I was Chief on the drill ship where only a 2nd was required. That vessel was so covered in machinery, you were busy as a bee all the time, and they were allowed to carry only 2 engineers and 1 oiler. But I find it strange that once that horsepower gets to a certain amount, all of a sudden you are not deemed inteligent enough to perform the functions of a Chief, for the 2 vessels that were re-engined with Cat's, had the horsepower increased where all of a sudden all of the 2nd class ticket holders became stupid in the eye of TC and now you need the 1st class ticket. Total bunch of BS in my opinion. Classification requirements should be deemed on the type of vessel, not horsepower output. And as far as pay scale went, you were paid the same as Chief, whether you had a 1st class or a 2nd class. Strange that.

Well Big Pete, I don't know if you can hear the sound of my head pounding against the wall, but I feel coal will always be around, even in the eyes of TC, along with "modern rivited steamship". I wonder how they would mark my answers that reference the DP3 Dive Vessel I'm on, or do I stick to the Lamb's, Pounder's and Reed's answers and drawings.

Wyatt, Interesting thoughts about Victoria, I'm from Victoria, went to PMTC (or whatever they call themselves now) and did up to seconds in Vancouver, all exams were done by the late Dave Hall, who was excellent. He wouldn't be slack but he was also sensible. I was in and out for my 2nds Orals in 35 minutes! I spent longer on my 4ths! Anyway I am over here in St. John's for the year as I do my Chiefs. So far the examiners have been good, my only complaint would be the time it takes to mark an exam. Guys are waiting up to two weeks to get a result, add that to the fact they only sit exams every two weeks and you get a one month penalty if you have to re sit, regardless of your score.
I know of two fella's that are prefering Victoria to Vancouver right now for their 1st class exams. I also remember when I was doing my caddetship everyone was flying up to Prince Rupert to do their exams!
Still waiting for the result....

Just to make you hopeful, when I did my 1st class, about 5 of the 12 questions between my motor and general were lube oil, bearing or LO analysis related. I had one on which is better: pneumatic or electronic propulsion control. I don't think there is a right answer for that one as long as you have a reasoned answer (btw I chose pneumatic, because I can puzzle that one out). I had one question on common rail engine...how the engine load is changed.
Remember a 1st class is on how to manage an engineroom or a problem.
Funny about the riveted ship comment. We had a ship with a riveted sheerstrake and I had a bit of an issue. We had to dig really deep to get the answer-no one knows anything about riveted regulations anymore. Our N arc never tosses anything, so we did get the answer.

Brad, do you recall when Dave Hall passed away. I worked with Dave in the Arctic, and he was a great shipmate. The funny thing was there were 2 Dave Hall's on the same vessel. The Dave you are speaking of was shorter than the other Dave, so we nic-named them, short haul, and long haul. We had some good laughs. Good luck on your 1st.

General EK exams are every Monday afternoon, according to the timetable in TP2293. Motor EK is every tuesday morning. Anything different is a departure from the mandated schedule and is purely local. TC Service standards specify that Exams must be marked and the candidate notified of the result within 7 working days. Any delay should be appealed to the Director, AMSPE, 330 Sparks St, Ottawa.

Penalty for cheating is failure, 6 month penalty, and charges under the CSA 2001

Advice for EKs, stick to what you know, don't try to learn about something you have no experience of, the EKs, General and Motor, are about what you have done, your experience, not your study habits. If you have the experience, you have a pretty good chance of passing an EK Exam, just answer the questions about the things you have experienced. Why would you even consider a question about coal if you've never used it as a fuel? That's just dumb!